Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived a King and Queen named Joshuin and Joshunna. Joshuin and Joshunna were very happy together.

But then Joshunna died in childbirth, widowing King Joshuin. Before she died, she named their son "Joshun" after herself. Then shortly after she died, Joshun was kidnapped and killed as well!

King Joshuin mourned them both deeply.

"Please, give me back my son and wife!" he cried out to the Heavens. No one answered.

"Why does no one hear my plea?" he begged.

After a time, a fairie appeared before him and said, "Who can you plead to? You are the king."

"I don't know," said the king. "But I want my son and wife back."

"Your wish is my command, your majesty," said the faerie. "I will aid you on your quest. But I must warn you, you may not be pleased by what you find."

And so the king set off on his quest. He journeyed far and wide across the land with the faerie at his command.

He did not find his son, nor his wife.

Until one day, a star shone bright over a small town far on the outskirts of the kingdom.

"Prince Joshun has returned!" the townspeople cried. "He has been reborn among us!"

"He looks just like the King, despite being born to commoners."

When the news finally reached King Joshuin's ears, he set off for that small town at once. But his kingdom was very big, and it took years to get there. By the time he arrived, young Joshun was gone.

Then, while he was gone his royal court betrayed and usurped him. King Joshuin was declared an outlaw, and had to go into hiding.

Thirty years passed since that fateful day. King Joshuin continued trying to find his son, and his son kept trying to find him.

They each took similar journeys: when King Joshuin travelled through the Foggy Forest, Joshun travelled through the Forest of Darkness. When King Joshuin spoke to the people of the hill, Joshun spoke to the people of the cliffside. When King Joshuin travelled for forty days and forty nights across the desert, then climbed to the mountaintop where he saw all the kingdoms of the world, Joshun did the same not long after.

Each of them gathered allies and followers about themselves to aid them on their journeys. Twelve for Joshuin and another twelve for Joshun.

At the end of Joshun's journey he was accused of a crime he did not commit and sentenced to death by stabbing AND by hanging at the same time.

With his powerful healing skills and his cunning, Joshun predicted this exact sentence would happen, and conconcted a plan to survive it.

First, he ate a huge banquet with loved ones and friends. He used acids and spices to break the food down even further than he could alone, thereby making more room for more food in his belly.

Then he fasted for an impossibly long time, with the full balance and variety of foods from the banquet keeping him alive through his hunger. For otherwise, some of those vital foods would run out before the others and the imbalance would kill him.

Then after he was stabbed and hung, after his heart stopped, he stopped breathing and the last drop of blood left his body, Joshuin was rushed to the tomb where he was to be buried.

Waiting there for him was an audience of everyone he'd ever helped on his travels, as well as the mighty King Joshuin himself.

"Put him on the bed," said King Joshuin to the attendant who had carried Joshun, for there was a mysterious bed in the middle of the tomb.

Then King Joshuin performed a healing ritual-one which every healer in the land already knew how to do, but did not know that they knew.

First, he stitched Joshun's wounds back together and gave him forty-two days worth of his own blood, which was dense with a large balanced variety of food from his own banquets.

Second, he restarted Joshun's heart with lightning.

Third, he placed his hands on Joshun's chest, placed his mouth upon Joshun's, and breathed into him.

Joshun inhaled, then opened his eyes.

"It's you!" he whispered. "You're the man I've been dreaming about!"

"Yes, my love," said King Joshuin. "It's me. Why did you reincarnate as our own son?"

"Um... I don't know. I think it's because I wanted to become stronger? I wanted to help people, but I was too fragile and weak, Maybe I'm more useful in this form."

The King's heart broke upon hearing those words. "You have never been useless. You have always been strong, and I am so, so proud of you. My followers have retaken the palace while you kept our enemies occupied. You saved the kingdom, my little hero. Please come home."

"Okay," said Joshun. "Thank you for saving me. I love you."

"I love you too," said King Joshuinn, kissing his son.

Joshun was lifted by his father and carried out of the tomb.

And from that day forward it was said: if your creator is your true love, you can be with him if you come back from the dead first. The departed need not obey the rules of mortal society.